tadaiva tasmin ninado 'tibhīṣaṇo
babhūva yenāṇḍa-kaṭāham asphuṭat
yaṁ vai sva-dhiṣṇyopagataṁ tv ajādayaḥ
śrutvā sva-dhāmātyayam aṅga menire
tadā - at that time; eva - just; tasmin - within (the pillar); ninadaḥ - a sound; ati-bhīṣaṇaḥ - very fearful; babhūva - there was; yena - by which; aṇḍa-kaṭāham - the covering of the universe; asphuṭat - appeared to crack; yam - which; vai - indeed; sva-dhiṣṇya-upagatam - reaching their respective abodes; tu - but; aja-ādayaḥ - the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmā; śrutvā - hearing; sva-dhāma-atyayam - the destruction of their abodes; aṅga - my dear Yudhiṣṭhira; menire - thought.
As we sometimes become very much afraid at the sound of a thunderbolt, perhaps thinking that our houses will be destroyed, the great demigods like Lord Brahmā feared the thundering sound that came from the pillar in front of Hiraṇyakaśipu.